


Stride Forward

by Yrindor



Category: Prince of Stride: Alternative (Anime)
Genre: Episode 8 Spoilers, Implied Kuga Kyousuke/Yagami Tomoe, M/M, Mentioned Yagami Riku
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-25
Updated: 2016-02-25
Packaged: 2018-05-23 04:24:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6104824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yrindor/pseuds/Yrindor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tomoe finds himself at a crossroads as his love of Stride threatens to destroy his bonds with the people he cares about.</p>
<p>Otherwise known as: the author had too many feels at Episode 8 and needed to do something about it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stride Forward

He had thought they were all on the same wavelength, him, and Heath, and Kyōsuke. Especially Kyōsuke, as the two of them pulled off one perfect relation after another together, their minds and bodies one as they drove forward towards their goal of being the best.

But then, when Heath had gone down in that race, Tomoe had leapt forward like always, sprinting up the never-ending stair towards their goal. Only he was alone. He looked back to see Kyōsuke stopped several steps below him, forfeiting the race to stay by Heath. Tomoe made no decision in that moment, neither going back to help Heath nor pushing forward on his own.

Then Stride had called to him. The sport that had defined his very existence for as long as he could remember called, and he answered. He left the team, left Kyōsuke and his little brother, and went to America to train.

It was harder, climbing the stairs alone, but he pushed forward, each day moving a little closer to his goal.

Then he returned to Japan and found himself racing alongside Kyōsuke once more, though as rivals instead of as teammates. As they turned the curve on the final leg of the race, their eyes met, and Tomoe felt the flash of the connection he had felt so many times before, but it was short-lived and quickly replaced by the realization that the gap between them had grown. He had devoted himself only to climbing ever higher, while Kyōsuke had been distracted by his friends and teammates. Tomoe could see it even now as Kyōsuke looked away from him and the course to smile fondly at the rest of his team.

They weren't on the same wavelength anymore, perhaps they never had been. He alone understood the siren call of the drive for perfection; Kyōsuke didn't hear it, letting himself be swayed by the call of his teammates.

"Sayonara, Kyōsuke," Tomoe said that night, severing the last bond that threatened to hold him back. He was free now, free to fly to the top of the stairs without anything stopping him.

He took off at a sprint.

The stair cracked under his foot.

He climbed several more steps, cracks spreading like spider webs everywhere his foot landed.

He looked ahead. The stairs stretched ahead of him as they always had, but the steps were farther apart now, each one looking more tenuous than the last.

He looked back. The cracked stairs were crumbling behind him, the gap they left already greater than what he could cross on his own.

Then, suddenly, Kyōsuke was at the base of the stairs stretching out a hand towards him. Despite everything he had done over the past year, despite the things he had just said earlier that night, Kyōsuke was still there offering his hand. And behind him, Heath and Riku were both waiting for him as well.

He closed his eyes. Did he keep pushing forward, accepting that the gap opening between him and his former teammates would soon be too large to cross, even with their help? Or did he go back, giving up the single-minded drive that had defined him for so long?

There was nothing but silence for a long moment. Then, with his eyes still closed, Tomoe whispered "Kyōsuke," and jumped from the stair, reaching out blindly and trusting that Kyōsuke's hand would somehow find his, just as it always had and just as it was meant to be.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, comments and feedback are welcome.


End file.
